Bill esper studio in NYC?
I was gonna apply to Bill esper studio because I really wanted to study the meisner technique.
I was wondering if it was worth going there even though Bill himself has passed away. If not , I'd appreciate recommendations to places where I could study the meisner technique on a full time program.
Yes. Suzanne Esper heads up the school now and she is amazing.
The facility is excellent .
The Big Difference: The staff are professionals who not only learned Meisner as actors…
But - in order to teach they have to start from scratch and put in time learning how to teach the technique .
Key Difference : I believe this standard and approach is why the school is considered to be one the best programs in the world.
In my opinion you’ll be doing yourself a huge favor by studying there.
So, you did study there after Bill his passing?
What would you say were the biggest pros of the school its teachings, and what were some cons/could be better? :)
Correct.
A Little Background: Before I started at Esper’s I already had about 20 years of acting experience.
I worked in New York and L.A. and studied under some amazing teachers.
However about 10 years ago I could feel the quality of my acting not being where I wanted and I could myself pushing for a result.
The Key Issue: even though I had an ability to work well as an actor…
I always felt like I was missing a clear process that I could confidently rely on.
A couple of my teachers had trained under Meisner so I was familiar with the technique.
My work with those teachers was more private coaching and text work so I went through a complete Meisner program.
Long story short, for a number of years I kept saying - “I’m going to NY and studying with Bill Esper, but I kept putting it off.”
Then he passed away and that lit a fire in me because it reminded me - we’re not promised tomorrow so you better act today.
Anyway, I got my butt in gear began studying there.
And I can honestly say - I made the most profound improvements in my acting and understanding of acting.
Plus, the thing that impressed me the most was the overall improvement of all the students.
Full disclosure : even though I love the approach and the program - it’s doesn’t always resent with everyone.
A couple of people dropped out .
And a couple of people were removed from the program for different reasons.
Bottom Line: I love their high standards and their commitment to developing people into damn good actors. And as an actor I love what the technique gives you.
Thank you so much for your elaborate answers and honesty. I intend on studying at the studio next year in the Summer Intensive. Do you have experience with their intensive, or did you do the full two year program?
I am honestly doubting between schools: Some say that the current staff/teachers are unprofessional, others didn't have that experience.
I just want to work with a teacher that teaches the technique as Meisner and Esper intended.
I began with the summer intensive and it was great.
The pandemic screwed up doing year two , but I’m planning to complete ASAP.
The intensive will give you a clear sense about going further into the program or moving on.
I didn’t work with ever person on the facility so I can’t honestly speak about each person …
but I would be shocked ( and disappointed ) if they allowed someone to stay on staff who wasn’t handling themselves professionally.
And just as surprised if the person wasn’t a high quality teacher.
From my experience and sense of things there are a few key issues that pop up.
1️⃣ Some actors don’t like the doing the exercises. They don’t thing there “acting.”
Which in my opinion means they’re 100% not understanding the purpose or skills the exercises are developing.
2️⃣ At Esper the focus is on developing professional actors and that means you better take your training serious because they are.
People who half ass their way through things are called out on it and I think that certainly can rub some people the wrong way.
3️⃣ You’re learning a technique and some people want to hang onto their ideas and habits with how they work or believe acting should be.
Esper doesn’t compromise on teaching the technique.
This doesn’t mean they want you to be a mindless robot.
Fact is, the final goal is to be able to use the tools and principles of the technique to discover your best way of working as actor.
But some times it’s hard for actors leave their stuff behind and they end up pushing back against something they don’t even understand yet.
What was really interesting to me was how this work deepened my understanding to work I had been taught by previous teachers.
For example: my first teacher who I studied with for about 5-6 years is an Actor’s Studio member and studied and taught under Lee Strasberg.
However, most of what he taught was closer to the principles Meisner.
I learned a lot of great things with him, but the process and work was not taught in a clear structured way.
Which means -we would work and get feedback and often be taught a cool exercise or technique to help improve things , but there was never a complete understanding WHY or How things fit together.
Anyway, what I love about Meisner work how it’s taught at Esper is the deliberate and focused manner you progress and learn.
You know specifically what skills you’re building and why you’re doing what your doing.
Frankly 99% of acting classes are random scene study classes with no clear focus on what skills you’re trying to improve. Nor do they give a clear path on how to improve them .
Anyway, as I went through my training bells would go off because I finally had a deeper and fuller understand about something I learned almost 20 years ago.
I know I’m rambling here but I hope this helps.
Asking this question is difficult to answer and I can't imagine anyone here aside from a few potential redditors could truly give you the answer you seek in plain sight. I will admit it also feels taboo typing as much as I have (this sentence is in retrospect) when there are far more qualified people to talk about it. But I think sharing knowledge is important even though it could be considered more taboo.
Bill Esper is a big name for good reason - and with much success. I'll be honest I'm not qualified at all to speak of the studio, the man (the myth - the legend), or if the current people running it are "good."
He held people to a high standard, I've studied with Peter Lewis who was under Bill, who also held people to a high standard. I can't imagine anyone who comes out of that not holding anyone who says they want to study under them to a standard less than excellent.
But that's just my opinion - I have no idea.
This answer is vague because there's no real "best" way to go about finding these answers. People will say it's going to be who you know rather than what you know. Others will say if you put in the maximum effort, every time, you will succeed when the opportunity arises. The list continues for ideas - thoughts - choices - etc. on how to get your foot in the door of the industry.
It's not a fun answer - but the best answer I can give you is one of two options (of which are merely only my opinion of options so don't treat it as the end all be all please, as this is a pretty basic post with some very vague options at the end):
You take the time to find 5 places. Make a list of questions you'd like to have answered. Find who the contact is for it. Ask the questions. Go back and review what place you'd like to go.
If you're uncertain that studio is really where you'd like to go then there's no reason you can't start reading his book to being to soak up the knowledge within. There's no reason you can't wait a little bit longer while still learning the knowledge.
But self-discipline to do everything on one's own is difficult - so either way - keep at it. The suck is going to suck; the fun is going to be fun. The decision at the end of the day is how you feel when your head hits a pillow. Good luck hopefully any of this helped! (and if not - then throw it out! I'm just some dude on the internet.)
Edit: Added missing words.